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Interview: Nick Castle on His Return to Haddonfield in ‘Halloween’ 2018

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Forty years ago Nick Castle stumbled into portraying one of the most iconic killers in horror history when he donned the pale white mask and coveralls of Michael Myers aka The Shape in 1978’s Halloween.

Castle, who would later go on to direct classic films like The Last Starfighter and The Boy Who Could Fly, had attended film school with writer/director John Carpenter, and when he found out his friend was directing a movie near his home, he called Carpenter up and asked if he could visit the set.

“He said, ‘Yeah,’ and then asked if I wanted to put on the mask and hang around the set,” Castle recalled in an interview with iHorror earlier this week. “And I said, ‘Yeah, that’s a good idea.’ That’s how it all started. There wasn’t a lot of direction. I just put on the mask and did it.”

Nick Castle stumbled into the iconic role of Michael Myers aka The Shape in the original Halloween.

It’s one of those Hollywood stories that’s hard to believe, but without much direction, or acting experience for that matter, Castle found a way of moving and embodying the character that made The Shape all too real and terrifying and influenced every actor who donned the mask in the decades that followed.

“I don’t know where that came from,” he admits, “but that idea that he would be very deliberate in his movements, it was very obvious to me, and I didn’t need much more than that. The character was very much a Frankenstein’s monster to me. He moved slowly, deliberately…you couldn’t really see his eyes. All you can see is that horrible, blank mask.”

Flash forward 40 years. Castle had retired from filmmaking when he received a call from David Gordon Green asking if he’d be interested in making some small reprisal of the role in a new Halloween film that retconned back to that original film and Castle’s portrayal.

Castle had started making appearances on the convention circuit, and had been meeting fans, realizing just how much that original film had meant to them over the years, and he suddenly knew this was a project he had to do.

“They brought me out to South Carolina for a week and I got to hang with the cast and crew,” he said. “I got to see Jamie [Lee Curtis] again, and John [Carpenter] came down to hang out. It was like a reunion, and we had a blast.”

He is quick to point out, however, that the lion’s share of The Shape’s portrayal in Halloween 2018 is on actor and stuntman James Jude Courtney.

“If they had asked me to come down and do the whole role,” he said, “it would have been a very different thing to consider. Having to be on set at 2 am, get ‘stabbed’ by this guy, do this, do that. The guy who does all that hard work is James Courtney, and he’s amazing. He was the one getting chairs thrown at him at 2 in the morning.”

Nick Castle with James Jude Courtney both appeared as The Shape in Halloween.

With the film in the can, he was excited to see audience reactions, and it also brought him back to the world of red carpet premieres for the first time in many years.

It was exciting, and even more so that he got to share it with his family.

“It was crazy!” he said. “I got to bring my two sons and their wives. The wives had never experienced going to a big opening and taking them there and to the premiere party was just a lot of fun.”

Halloween is already available on digital streaming services and hits Blu-Ray and DVD this week on Tuesday, January 15, 2019.

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Childhood Memories Collide in New Horror Film ‘Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble’

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It looks like ITN Studious and Jagged Edge Productions are going the Avengers: Infinity War route with their upcoming film Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. From the deranged mind of Rhys Frake-Waterfield (Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey) comes this belligerent mash up of beloved childhood icons.

According to an article out of Variety today, Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble will consist of Winnie the Pooh, Bambi, Tinkerbell, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Tigger, Piglet, The Mad Hatter, and Sleeping Beauty. All of these iconic figured will be warped into nightmarish versions of their former selves. Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble is set to be released upon the world sometime in 2025.

Poohniverse

Actor-producer Scott Chambers (Malevolent) had the following to say about Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. “As horror fans, we would love an Avengers that is all villains. It’d have Freddy Krueger, Jason, ‘Halloween,’ ‘Scream,’ all of those. Obviously that will never happen, but we can make it happen in our own little way, and that’s where this film has been born.”

Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble will be a part of The Twisted Childhood Universe. Just like the MCU, each character will first get a standalone film. After introductions are made, they will be reunited in an Avengers style film. Although they will be killing off the survivors from the previous films, they won’t be working together.

Chambers describes this as an “epic sequences of monster vs. monster.” And I don’t know what more fans could ask of the studio. This fantastical idea is a huge risk but Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble sounds amazing.

That’s all the information we have at this time. Check back here for more updates on Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. If you haven’t already, check out the trailer for Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 below.

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Blumhouse’s ‘The Wolf Man’ Reboot Kicks Off Production with Leigh Whannell at the Helm

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Blumhouse Productions has officially commenced filming its reboot of the Universal Monsters legend, “Wolf Man”. Under the direction of Leigh Whannell, known for his acclaimed work on “The Invisible Man” (2020), the project promises to breathe new life into the iconic tale. The film is slated for a theatrical release on October 25th, marking a new chapter in the storied franchise.

Wolf Man

The journey of a “Wolf Man” reboot began in 2020 when actor Ryan Gosling presented a fresh take on the classic story to Universal. This concept quickly evolved into a screenplay crafted by the talented duo Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, who are known for their work on “Orange Is the New Black,” alongside contributions from Whannell and Corbett Tuck. The narrative is set in contemporary times, drawing inspiration from the atmospheric tension of Jake Gyllenhaal’s “Nightcrawler,” albeit with a distinct supernatural twist.

The film has seen its share of directorial and casting shifts, with Whannell initially signing on to direct in 2020, only to step away and then return to the project after Ryan Gosling and director Derek Cianfrance exited. The lead roles have been filled by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, both of whom bring significant talent to the screen. Abbott portrays a man whose family faces the terror of a lethal predator, with Garner likely playing his wife, sharing in the familial peril. The storyline also hints at a daughter named Ginger, adding a layer of depth to the family’s harrowing experience.

Julia Garner and Christopher Abbott

This reboot represents a collaboration between Blumhouse and Motel Movies, with Jason Blum producing. Ryan Gosling remains involved as an executive producer, alongside Ken Kao, Bea Sequeira, Mel Turner, and Whannell himself. The announcement of the film’s production start was made by Jason Blum, who shared an exciting glimpse of Whannell on set, signaling the beginning of what is hoped to be a memorable addition to the horror genre.

As the “Wolf Man” reboot moves forward, fans and newcomers alike are eager to see how this modern interpretation will pay homage to its roots while offering a fresh and thrilling experience. With a talented cast and crew at the helm, the film is poised to reintroduce the timeless tale of transformation and terror to a new generation.

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‘Immaculate’ Stars Reveal Which Horror Villains They Would “F, Marry, Kill”

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Sydney Sweeney is just coming off the success of her rom-com Anyone But You, but she’s ditching the love story for a horror story in her latest film Immaculate.

Sweeney is taking Hollywood by storm, portraying everything from a love-lusting teenager in Euphoria to an accidental superhero in Madame Web. Although the latter got a lot of hate among theater-goers, Immaculate is getting the polar opposite.

The film was screened at SXSW this past week and was well-received. It also gained a reputation for being extremely gory. Derek Smith of Slant says the, “final act contains some of the most twisted, gory violence this particular subgenre of horror has seen in years…”

Thankfully curious horror movie fans won’t have to wait long to see for themselves what Smith is talking about as Immaculate will hit theaters across the United States on March, 22.

Bloody Disgusting says that the movie’s distributor NEON, in a bit of marketing smarts, had stars Sydney Sweeney and Simona Tabasco play a game of “F, Marry, Kill” in which all their choices had to be horror movie villains.

It’s an interesting question, and you might be surprised at their answers. So colorful are their responses that YouTube slapped an age-restricted rating on the video.

Immaculate is a religious horror movie that NEON says stars Sweeney, “as Cecilia, an American nun of devout faith, embarking on a new journey in a remote convent in the picturesque Italian countryside. Cecilia’s warm welcome quickly devolves into a nightmare as it becomes clear her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors.”

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